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"He said he was getting up to go wash his hands and had gotten near the bathroom when these masked people came in," she said by phone Friday. "He went in there and called 911. They told him, 'Stay in the bathroom until we tell you to come out.' "

By the time he got the all-clear, the waitress was still crying and Bownds was still waiting on his Boston cream pie, Sisk said.

The robbers fled as HPD patrol officers pulled up to the restaurant. Police said they took one of the robbery suspects into custody and a second was still being sought.

HPD officers did not have a detailed description of him. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Sisk said it's the second time Bownds, a former physical education teacher for the Alief school district, has had a close encounter with robbers.

In the earlier incident, he was going to his car in a store parking lot when a man with a gun demanded his wallet.

Bownds' calm demeanor apparently encouraged the robber to talk and he began telling him how he used to go to church.

"Bill's giving him his wallet and telling him, 'Well, you need to get back in church,' while he's got a gun pointed at him," Sisk said.